Rube Goldberg Machine
Rube Goldberg Machines are a series of complex machines to complete a small task. The machines are named after Reuben Garret Lucius Goldberg, an American cartoonist and engineer studying at the University of California. "Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways." -WikiPedia. Goldberg recieved multiple awards including the Pulitzer Prize, National Cartooni'sts Society, Banshees Silver Lady Award. He was also one of the founders of the National Cartoonists society which hosts the Rube Goldberg Machine Contests which has contestants builld and engineer a complex series of steps to complete a simple task, hence the Rube Goldberg Machine.
Is Sky The Limit?
Our class was assigned groups to create and build our own Rube Goldberg machine. After a month me and my partners, Jackson and Carter, worked on our project called Star Gazing. Our theme we chose was space; our theme was chosen to describe how with physics, teamwork, building, and a little bit of creativity not even the sky is the limit. Our end goal is to light up the sky with the glorious sun (lightbulb) by going through incline plains, ramps, levers, and spirals. Our machine went through many changes and approvements to create the best end goal possible, which we presented at Rubes Goldberg night.
Small Steps for Man
Big Steps for Mankind:
4 Energy Transfers:
Wedge
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Pulley
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Lever
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Mousetrap
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Math and Calculations
Ramp 1:Mechanical advantage of 4.9 times easier Velocity is about 3.5m/s
Ramp 2: Mechanical advantage of 7 easier. Velocity is about 2.1 M/S
Screw: Mechanical advantage of 4.2 times easier velocity is about 2.3 M/S
Lever: the force required to activate it is .66 Newtons
Stepping boards: Mechanical advantage is 6.2 times easier the velocity .35 newtons
Pulley: the two pulleys act as one so the mechanical advantage is 1.
as well as 100% energy transfer